Wire-connector.



No.8'b6,477. PATENTED BBQ-5,1905. N. W. LILLIE& A. FREIER.

WIRE CONNECTOR.

APPLICATION 11mm PEB.20,1905.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- NATHANIEL W. LILLIE, OF SOMERVILLE, ANDANTON FREIER, OF BOSTON,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS'TO HOLTZER CABOT ELECTRIC COMPANY, OFBROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHU- SETTS.

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I Patented Dec. 5,1905.

Application filed February 20, 1905. Serial No. 246,428.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, NATHANIEL W. Ln;- LIE, residing in- Somerville,county of Middlesex, and ANTON FREIER, residing in Boston, county ofSuffolk, State of Massachusetts,

citizens of the United States,have invented an Im rovement inWire-Connectors ,of which the f0 owing description, in connection withthe accompanying drawings, is a specification like letters on thedrawings representing like parts.-

The present invention relates to a wire-connector for connecting onewire with :another in electrical contact, the purpose being to ob tain aconnector which can be used for connecting together the ends of twowires running in the same -dire ction-or,if necessary, connecting abranch wire to a' main wire without cutting the said main wire.

The connector embodying the invention consists of a'mefnber formed ofconductin -materia'l adapted to envelop the connecte wires and to bringthem into intimate electrical contact throughout the length of thejoint, the tensile strength being obtained by twisting the wires withthe connector applied thereto. o

The connector embodying the invention consists of a strip of conductingmetal of a pliable nature and of good electrical conductlvity, such ascopper, the edges of the said strip being bent around'toward each other,

so as to form two arallel recesses to receive the ends of the wlreswhich are to be connected. The edges may be bent until they" come nearlyinto contact with the base of the stri to form a tube, or in some casesone or bot edges may be bent over only far enough to form a channel toreceive the wire, which can then be inserted lengthwise instead ofendwise. In the latter construction it is desirable to make a shar bendjust back of the edge of the strip, so iihat the saidedge'will lie inclose] contact with the wire and. be

drawn into close engagement therewith during the twisting process.

A further feature of the invention consists in making the middle of'theconnector softer and more pliable than the ends by drawing the temper ofthe strip in the middle porialionds and leaving the ends comparativelyFigure 1 is a perspective view of a wirejoint embodying the invention inwhich both recesses are substantially closed. Fi 2 is an end view of'the same on an e arged scale. Fig. 3 isan enlarged end view of aconnector, showing a slight modificatiom Figs. 4'and 5 show,respectively, aperspective v view and an enlarged end view of aconnector with a further modification. Fig. 6 is a plan view of twowires connected, and

7 is an enlarged transverse section taken through the middle of Fig. '6.

As shown'in is formed of a strip of sheet metal, preferably copper, theends of which are rolled over' toward each other and toward-the body ofthe strip, so as to form two parallel recesses a, which may be madeslight y larger in diameter than the wires to be connected, so. that thesaid wires can be readilyinserted end-" wise. The wires when the endsthereof have been inserted in the recesses are securely connectedtogether by twistin the ends of the connector with the wires t erein inopposite directions, so that the two wires are twisted together, asshown in Fig; 6. In the twisting operation the adjacent edges of theconnecting-strip are not only forced close together, but also snuglyinto contact with the surface of the wire, so that they-come intoperfect electrical contact therewith over the entire surface, as shownin Fig. 7.

1 In Fi 7 the outlines of the wires and of the su aces of theconnectorwhere these arts are in contact are indicated by fine ines, the contact,however, being so perfect in the actual article that when the wires arecut through the middle of the connector these lines are only faintlyvisible.

As-indicated in Fig. 3, that portion of the Figs. 1 and 2, the connectorconnecting-strip which lies between the two adjacent recesses may bebentupward" slightly, so that the recesses conform a little more closely tothe wires. This construction, however, is not essential, since the wirescan be perfectly connected when the back of the strip is leftsubstantially flat.

In cases where a branch wire is. to be connected with an unbroken mainwire so that it is impossible to insert the latter endwise in therecesses the connector may be shaped as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, one edgeof the strip bein 'at a sufficient distance from the-other rolle -overedge to admit the lateral inser:

tion of the unbroken Wire. In this case we prefer to bend the said edgeat a more or less abrupt angle, as indicated at (1 so that after theWire has been inserted the connector can be closed thereon by means ofpliers, the bent-in edge hugging closely the surface of the Wire andbeing drawn still closer into contact therewith when the wires aretwisted.

A further important feature of novelty consists in the varying degreesof hardness in different parts of the connector, the part between theends being much softer and more pliable than the parts adjacent to theends. This quality is obtained in tempering the connector and isimportant for the reason that the connector thus made, while stiffenough at the ends to get a hold on the wire,

is so soft in the middle as to be drawn into perfect electrical contactwith the wire,

there being no particular strength needed in this part of the connector,since the wires are held to ether through the twisting of the two.

We 0 aim ceive the wires, the said. metal being softer' and more pliablein the middle than at the ends.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NATHANIEL W. LILLIE. ANTON FREIER.

WVitnesses MARGARET E. COULNEY, HENRY J. LIVERMORE.

